A Maiden's Heart and the Taste of Melted Vanilla
by Major Mike Powell III
Summary: A tale where Fate is a maiden in love, Hayate's advice is absolutely terrible, chivalry isn't dead, and Fate may have to go "old school" to get her lady...meaning that she fails at subtlety. HayatexNanoha and FatexSignum. Read'n Enjoy.


**A Maiden's Heart and the Taste of Melted Vanilla**

 **By Major Mike Powell III**

Fate T. Harlaown was a beautiful young maiden in love. She knew she was in love, but she was rather unfamiliar with the ways of romance and courtship, and given the person, a fellow woman, that she was in love with...her inexperience was not doing her any favors.

Sure, her friends in love, Nanoha and Hayate, had it easy. The two were inseparable ever since they confessed to each other in their sunset-lit classroom and they enjoyed their love to the fullest and had no issues whatsoever with displaying their affections every chance they had.

Make no mistake. Fate was not mad or sad that Nanoha and Hayate were having the time of their lives enjoying their love, whether in Fate's presence or the privacy of their homes. She actually valued the "alone time" to try and think of ways to approach the woman of her dreams.

However, no matter how much research Fate did online, no matter how many courtship-related websites she visited, no information was useful for the blonde. The methods of romancing that she had come across...they were simply too current and modern.

The woman of Fate's dreams was not modern in any way, shape or form. So, she eventually got desperate and Fate did the equivalent of making a deal with the devil. Well, not the "White Devil", anyway...

"Hayate...I need help."

Hayate's already-mischievous smile (because, really, when was Hayate's smile not mischievous?) reminded Fate of the tanuki folk creatures she had seen in Japanese Culture 101 class.

"Well, Fate-chan, first off: remember to not bite off the banana in half. You'll just scare him off." Hayate said with completely unnecessary and unconvincing seriousness. The blonde contemplated giving herself a concussion by bashing her forehead off of the nearest wall.

"Hayate... _please try_ and be serious for a moment here, will you?!" The agitated blonde scolded, trying to hold back the urge to smack Hayate on the back of the skull...or step on the raccoon tail she could practically _see_ twitching behind Hayate.

The brunette then could not hold it in anymore and burst out laughing like an idiot.

"Ok...Ok, Fate-chan, Ok...I'm sorry-Pfffttt! No, Hell no! I'm not sorry at all~ I've wanted to say that for a while. Sue me." Hayate got her breath back and then, sat back down on her bed, sitting cross-legged before her romantically-challenged friend.

-o-

And now, here she was, clashing swords (Japanese bokken, but still, they were swords nonetheless) with her, the woman that Fate fell in love with; the warrior woman that Fate had long-since admired, respected, and just looked up to in general.

They were fighters; comrades and rivals. She was fire, and Fate was lightning.

 _"And remember, Fate-chan. She's old school. Modern stuff won't work with her."_ Hayate's words echoed in Fate's mind as she went through the motions yet still felt the usual joy of sparring with her older, pink-haired partner.

"Ok, Testarrosa. Something's wrong. Tell me, please?" Signum's deep, smooth baritone snapped Fate's attention back to the sparring session at hand. Right on time, too, as her lapse in concentration could have ended on her taking a bokken strike to the cheek if Signum had not called her out.

Fate got it together lightning-quick, swiftly parrying the incoming swing of Signum's bokken and then, resuming their sparring session without incident.

"I...I'll...I'll tell you later, Ok?" The blonde had spoken after getting back into her fighting stance. Signum had simply nodded before resuming their practice fight.

-o-o-

Not many things were able to visually surprise Signum. Not many situations could make her lose her cool, calm and collected look for even a single second.

But there is clearly a first time for everything and the only evidence of such an instance was Signum...raising a fine eyebrow.

"Testarossa...come again?"

Fate was a bit of a blushing mess. Just a bit. (Meaning she was probably blushing from head to toe) Still, she sucked in a breath and repeated her question.

"Signum...what do you think of romance?"

 _"GODDA-!"_ Fate and Signum turned towards the strangled sound coming from a nearby trash can that was _not there_ earlier that morning when they had stepped into their "training" area in a public park.

"...what was-?" "A-Anyway, Signum!" Fate quickly stepped into the pinkette's field of view to successfully divert her blue gaze away from the conspicuous trash can that _totally did not have a person hiding inside_.

"Yes, Testarossa?" The Belkan Knight turned to Fate and the young maiden's beautiful, exotic crimson eyes darted back and forth.

"Uh, um...n-ne, look! There's an ice-cream truck over there! I don't know about you, but I could use a snack right now! Yeah, come on! Let's go get ice-cream! My treat!" She then grabbed Signum's hand with both of her own and pulled the snake sword-wielder to said ice-cream truck, stopping by their bags and such to put their bokkens away.

Fate felt her heart swell with joy and warmth when Signum gave her a tiny smile and did not pull her hand away from hers as she led the pinkette to get the frozen treat after a morning of sparring.

-o-o-o-

A little while later saw the blonde and pinkette sitting in comfortable silence on a bench in a sunny spot of the park, leisurely enjoying their ice-cream; strawberry and vanilla for Fate, and just vanilla for Signum.

"So, Testarossa...about your question earlier..." Fate almost choked on her ice-cream when she took a bite a little _too_ big of her treat. Plus, she literally had to fight off an incoming brain freeze.

"U-Urk! Uh...gah, Uh, um, I...uhhh...Ok, go on. Sorry!" Fate felt utterly mortified, making a total fool of herself in front of her beloved warrior sitting right next to her on that bench.

The blue-eyed woman gave her vanilla ice-cream a couple more small licks as she pondered her answer.

"Well...to be honest...I have no interest in romance."

Fate felt her maiden heart freeze.

"A-Ah...I see...Ok. Sorry for the weird question, Signum..." Fate muttered and just stared at her melting ice-cream. She was no longer hungry (not that she really was to begin with), plus the ice-cream no longer tasted like it should.

"However..."

Fate's crimson eyes turned to Signum and the older woman's blue gaze met her rival's.

"If there is one thing that Meister Hayate has taught us, all of us in the Wolkenritter...is to treasure those close to you, to hold them close to you, close to your heart. She taught Zafira, Vita, Shamal and I the meaning of family..." the pinkette spoke with such confidence and wisdom, Fate almost swooned right then and there, yet she bravely fought off the urge and simply held Signum's gaze as she went on.

"And I have definitely seen how radiant Meister Hayate is every morning after spending time with Takamachi. Her smile is unlike anything I have ever seen. And it is all thanks to Takamachi, and you, Testarossa. So, what I am getting at..."

Signum then slowly reached a hand out to swipe a bit of the vanilla portion of Fate's ice-cream and then, lick the cold, sweet goodness off the tip of her finger.

"She has been encouraging us, all of us, to go find out what the world can truly offer...and of course, by that, she means she wants us to find our own significant others."

Cue Fate's beautiful face being lit up like a Christmas tree by the most intense blush of her life. The blonde's heart pounded in her ears as she felt herself drowning in the ocean color of Signum's eyes.

Then, Fate realized that Hayate's advice of "trying old school" was complete and total garbage. The blonde decided to do things her way...meaning: do what her heart told her.

"S-Signum, I'm in love with you!" Fate let the dice roll, so to speak.

She dropped her practically-melted ice-cream and seized Signum's own hands which still held her own vanilla ice-cream cone as she shouted out her confession.

"Signum, I, I've admired you so much for so long! You're so strong and wise and cool and beautiful! I respect you a great deal, both as my partner and a woman, and I, I'm in love with you, Signum!"

Fate spoke from the very bottom of her maiden heart and with as much passion as if calling out her attacks in battle.

"Fate."

Signum's voice, gentle and soothing, brought the passionate blonde back down from her post-confession high. The girl opened her eyes again (when had she closed them?)...and saw that both her and Signum's hands were covered in vanilla ice-cream.

"E-Eh?" The blonde blinked twice.

"You crushed the cone there." Signum spoke with a subtle touch of mirth in her deep voice. She was completely right: Fate had held Signum's hands so tightly that the pinkette's ice-cream cone basically crumbled in their combined grasp.

"...So...um...does that mean you...?" The blonde paid their vanilla-covered hands little attention, gazing once again into Signum's blue eyes. The pinkette smiled, just the tiniest bit. Fate mentally gave herself a high-five. That's _two_ times she had made Signum smile today!

"Yes, Fate. I accept your feelings. Please, be patient with me, alright? I have never really had a romantic companion before, so this may need some getting used to. Alright?"

Fate T. Harlaown stared at Signum of the Wolkenritter, mesmerized.

Signum was a swordswoman without equal. She was a warrior. A proud knight. She was a badass...yet, now Fate saw what she always believed: Signum had a big, beautiful maiden heart.

Tears of joy prickled at the corners of her crimson eyes.

"Signum...please... _hold me?"_ She spoke with a voice full of relief, joy and love for her partner.

The older woman nodded and gently but securely wrapped one arm around Fate's shoulders and moved her other hand to seize Fate's as the blonde pulled herself as close as comfortably possible into Signum's warm, womanly body.

The pinkette intertwined their fingers and the blonde gave her hand a gentle squeeze in return.

"You _do_ know our hands are covered with vanilla ice-cream, right?"

"Don't care. I love you, Signum."

"...fair enough. Thank you, Fate. I _will_ learn to love you. You have my word as a Knight."

Fate responded in the form of cuddling closer to Signum.

Perhaps Hayate's advice was not _that_ useless, after all. Signum was chivalrous, that was for sure. And Fate could not be happier.

They were maidens in love, at the end of the day.

 **~Fin~**

 _ **Author's Note:**_ _Hey there, people! 'Sup, ya'll, my Nanoha friends? :3 The Major here, and this time, I bring you something I have frankly wanted to write for a long, long time now. Believe it or not, FatexSignum is an old favorite pairing of mine. Unfortunately, this pairing has basically fallen into obscurity by now, so, it's probably not the best of times to post this, but damn it! I wanna show the world my love for FatexSignum A.K.A FateNum. :3_

 _Also, yeah, that was Hayate hiding inside that trash can and encouraging/spying on Fate and Signum, because, well, Hayate. 8D_

 _So, I wanna give a big shout-out to my awesome friend and fellow writer, Glexen, for lending me his ear, or being my audience, so to speak, for me to type this story out on a Skype chat window. 8D That stuff REALLY works!_

 _So, have a nice day, everyone, and please love FateNum! :3_

 _Semper-Fi! Carry on!_


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